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Keith is charged with felony theft

Andrew David Keith, 20, of Bemidji, was charged Monday with felony theft after allegedly stealing about $4,000 in cash from Pete's Place West, where he worked.

According to the criminal complaint, Keith was investigated after the owner of Pete's Place West in Eckles Township contacted the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office on June 13. The owner suspected Keith after he watched a video-surveillance tape that showed him taking cash from customers and pocketing it rather than ringing up their purchases, the complaint said. However, the owner said it was difficult to see exactly what was happening on the tape.

On June 18, police officers from Beltrami County and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension set up video-surveillance tapes in the convenience store; these videos were used until July 6. Upon review, they showed Keith using a calculator to add up sales instead of using the cash register, and he entered the sales into a ledger, the complaint said.

On July 5, Beltrami County officers went to Pete's Place West and made undercover purchases with marked money, the complaint said. The officers observed that Keith did not use the cash register and instead used a calculator to total the purchases.

Keith was arrested while leaving work later in the evening on July 5. The complaint said he possessed $220 of the marked currency and $254 of other currency.

In a statement, Keith admitted that he had been stealing from his employer, the complaint said. In his statement, he said he was good with numbers and kept track of the sales in his head. He then wrote down the sales on a ledger and later added them up on a calculator. He said he would then remove the money from the till, the complaint said.

He said he had been doing this for a while now and that he had stolen approximately $4,000 in cash, the complaint said.